Article excerpt

TO his family and neighbours, pensioner Harvey Richardson was a truegentleman quietly living out his final years.

But after his death it emerged that the retired librarian had been harbouring asecret which could help crack a murder unsolved for 38 years.

Police are investigating claims that the 77-year-old was the killer of LorraineJacob, a 19-year-old mother of two, after decorators found a detailedconfession while renovating Richardson's terrace home.

Alongside the nine-page note was a folder of press cuttings relating to hermurder in 1970, as well as a Second World War gun and an item of clothing.

They are all being examined by forensic and handwriting experts.

Miss Jacob's body was found dumped in an alleyway in Liverpool city centre. Theunmarried mother, who had a baby son and daughter, had been battered andstrangled.